Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

Knuckling back in

Good news on the injury front today. Tim Wakefield will pitch on the road at Gwinnett County for Triple-A Pawtucket. He should come back into the rotation right after that, meaning he could start as early as Aug. 20 at Toronto, or perhaps at home against the Yankees over the weekend.

Dice-K also took a positive step today, throwing his first bullpen since going on the DL. Matsuzaka will throw again on Friday, and then on Monday, and presumably start facing hitters after that.

Mike Lowell is not in tonight’s lineup, as he is the odd man out a second night in a row.

Andrew,
Finally, I can answer a question. Kottaras will return to the Red Sox 25 list and somebody will be booted out. It will mean three catchers but that’s the plan.
Now if we had not have traded Masterson we could have used him tonight — Just my opinion.

I would like too see Wakefield start against Toronto, over the years the Yankees have hit Wakefield hard.

Boston should pound this kid Porcello, he’s lucky if he sees the 5th inning!

A good lineup for Tazawa to face, not many good hitters in this Detroit lineup. Just don’t give Cabrera much too hit..especially with guys on base. If Granderson gets on base, I assume he’ll be running like the Rays do.

_______The Loving Yankee Fan of tcdd133________
.
.
The boy typed the name on the keyboard ? tcdd133 and logged off.
He smiled.
?Theodore…your oatmeal is ready!?
?OK Mom…did you…?
A sigh from his mom came her face.
?I even put in the chocolate chips you love so much`?
Theodore ran up to his mom and said, ?you’re the best mom…now when can I move out of the basement.?
Theodore’s mom sighed and said, ?oh dear…let’s try again…where do babies come from??
Thedore smiled and said, ?can’t fool me mom. When that stork comes and drops the little bundle in corn field…?
?We’ll talk about it some other time Theodore.?
Theodore grunted.
?Well…I sure showed them Red Sox fans how it is to be a Yankee fan…they’re the best.?
His mother sighed.
?Theodore you do know the Yankees are a baseball team right????
Theodore smiled.
?Of course Mom…I’m not stupid. Hey…why doesn’t the tooth fairy come around anymore??
His mother sighed.
?Theodore…we’ve been through that. You’re thirty five…but I suppose those electro shock treatments haven’t really helped you out have they??
Theodore smiled.
?Mom…I’m smart…but I gotta ask you…why do you use a puck in baseball??
His mother sighed.
?Oh Theodore…why don’t you eat your liver instead and then you can read that Dr. Seuss book you so love.?
Theodore jumped up so high his diaper fell off striking the ground.
?Ya Mom…liver will help me read those big words that I so love.?
Theodore slipped up his diaper and ran upstairs. He fell down but got up again amd grabbed jos sippy cup.
?If those idiots like Ellan and 007 could see me now…then they’d know what a real fan is all about because next year I’m moving into the attic!?
Such is the life of Theodore…we all love him.

Here are those lines.
.
“Mom…why don’t I have a Yankee thingy on my diaper.”
A sigh from mom.
“Honey, I can’t let you around permanent markers…”
“Permanent…???”
“Let’s just say we stick to crayons!”
“Mom…when I pee it washes off the logo!”
“Oh dear…and you wonder why you don’t live in the attic!”

It is still interesting to me that it is Papi in the lineup and not Lowell at the DH. I still think we’d benefit more from Mike’s bat than Papi’s right now.
Yes, Tazawa does look like he’s in grade school, but so do many East Asians: “Hey, who let you near the car keys?” I’m sure Tazawa is indeed mature beyond his years , but he does look like he should be pitching in Williamsport, not MLB!
I also believe he is being rushed, and it is possible that the problem could be exacerbated if he does have early success. Tazawa may indeed have that early success–so did Buch. While Tazawa is probably more mature at this point than Buch was, I am not sure his STUFF is, and that, I believe, will stunt his growth, down the road, especially! (Buch’s pitching immaturity was not really exposed until the following year.
I spoke about perspective, Dave, when we talked about Masterson. This is the flip side of it–don’t be lulled into complacency when a prospect, not just Tazawa, has early success!

I have noticed recently a real inability to put hitters away when they are ahead in the count. Last night, Delcarment was ahead 0-2 and 1-2 on a couple of hitters and winds up giving up base hits. Tonight, I’m seeing the same thing with Tazawa. Man, you get ahead 1-2 on a hitter, you’ve got to be able to put him away.

Shortstop has really hurt the Sox this year and we see it again tonight with Nick Green throwing away what looks like a routine double play……. damn, the Sox DP combo looks pretty horrible tonight. Tazawa should have been out of this inning. He hasn’t pitched badly.

It was the law of averages.. as many times as Youk gets hit, he was bound to go off..
AND ECK… The pitcher meant to hit him.. He tried to hit Martinez earlier… so he “looked” shocked wqhen Youk charged him… he still meant it…………….

F*&*&^ Green should be charged with another error, a mental error. A little leaguer would know you charge the ball and not lay back for the ball to turn a dp.
Tazawa should escape the inning with 0 run and 1 run at worst. Where is Lugo?

Porcello drilled Youk on purpose, no question about it. Tailing fastball up and in. Youk had no chance to get out of the way. I don’t know what Eck is thinking except that he’s a common sense pitcher and you don’t drill a leadoff hitter with a three run lead in the second inning. Porcello was stupid if he did that. Sox don’t get hurt by putting Lowell in the lineup. In my opinion, Porcello should not have been tossed unless there was a warning we didn’t see or hear about. This makes pitching inside taboo for the rest of the night.

Garry….All those guys sound good to me. Anyone but Green, anytime there is a play involving him…I expect him to goof it up. Green isn’t hitting and on top of that he is slumping at the plate, other than that he is doing great! lol.

It’s not a lot different than the Florida coast Greg. Like Florida, they killed the place by over building condos. There are a bunch of them for sale there. In fact, there is a lot of all kinds of property for sale there. Unlike Florida though, they still think their beach front property is worth millions….. and it isn’t.

Mike Lowell is in. Good, I hope he can keep our offense going!
I believe it, Garry. We are bemoaning a lot of condo developments (which only recently has SLOWED, not stopped!) that look like beachfront properties–compounded by the fact that they may sit idle for a while!

Like I said, the Sox don’t get hurt by replacing Youk with Lowell. Lowell has been hitting since he came off the DL. He’s been very consistent. I would be giving serious thought to making Lowell the DH, or maybe making Martinez the DH, and sitting Ortiz. I’m sorry, but Papi just isn’t doing anything.

Did anyone see the ESPN program about Luis Tiant last night (“The Lost Son of Havana”)? VERY GOOD program! Made me wish I had been old enough to have watched the 75 WS! Great to learn more about Tiant himself, also!
GO SOX!

Looks like Tawazee is settling in nicely. He could have crumbled after the first inning with Nick Green doing his best Lugo imitation. But he’s hanging in tough. Gotta luv it!!Maybe now we know why he’s in Boston.
I’m going to have to watch the game tomorrow morning. Looks like I missed a good one.

Tazawa didn’t need to settle in. He got screwed in the first inning by his defense. The score in this game should be 6-0. By the way, you think Mikey is making a statement about the playing time situation? Maybe he can’t run, but he can hit, and he’s better than Youk at third. Their best infield is with him at third and Youk at first.

Julia: You are right. I was surprised that V-Mart, JD, Pedey did not take a swing and clobber this guy. Let it rain. The game would be official if called.
4-3 Jays and the Cleveland are beating up on Tex. I am loving it!

Cabrera was called up this past weekend. He has some major league experience.

007…

I believe this is Cabrera’s Red Sox debut. Why wasn’t he called up instead of Traber??? I’m not sure what Theo was thinking when Traber was summoned to the big club. We’ll look back in 20 years and say remember Billy Traber when he was a member of the Red Sox??? LOL….

I still don’t know why Bowden isn’t up. He has pitched well for the big club when given the chance.

Cabrera was called up this past weekend. He has some major league experience.

007…

I believe this is Cabrera’s Red Sox debut. Why wasn’t he called up instead of Traber??? I’m not sure what Theo was thinking when Traber was summoned to the big club. We’ll look back in 20 years and say remember Billy Traber when he was a member of the Red Sox??? LOL….

I still don’t know why Bowden isn’t up. He has pitched well for the big club when given the chance.

I understand that Lowell needs a break here and there but don’t take him out of the lineup. Of course the reason Lowell is hitting the longball tonight is because Francona has kept Lowell fresh. HA..HA…HA…

Been awhile since I’ve been on here. Sox and Pinstripes is bustling, and I’m also working on debuting a baseball-themed travel web site in February, and writing a 2010 guidebook to Red Sox prospects and Red Sox minor league affiliates. That said, a few comments. Junichi Tazawa’s fast ball is not his main pitch. In fact, it’s his only average pitch, but it has potential to get much better. Tazawa is known for his curve (his out pitch), a nice slider and a forkball. Importantly, he has excellent command, and he pitches with a veteran’s poise. If the Sox trade Buchholz in the off-season in a package for a pitcher like Halladay or King Felix, or a big bat like Adrian Gonzalez, Tazawa could be Boston’s No. 5 starter, or a reliever, in 2010. I still like Michael Bowden and think he has No. 3 potential. Hopefully he gets a chance to make a few starts this season.

I imagine that Youk will get a five-game suspension when all is said and done. It will give him a breather. Without him, the Sox lineup would be best with Kotchman at first, V-Mart behind the plate and Lowell at third, but I know that sometimes Varitek will catch and V-Mart will play first. When Youk is back, I would rather Ortiz sit and Lowell, Kotchman and V-Mart alternate at DH. I’m ready for the Ortiz era to end in Boston. I think Kottaras will be with the team on September 1. Not sure if he will come off the DL and catch Wakefield’s August 20 start. The Sox’ options would be sending down Reddick and going with Nick Green as their fourth outfielder, or DFAing Chris Woodward and going without a utility infielder until September 1 when roster expand to 40. Or they could send Cabrera back to Pawtucket and go with six relievers for 11 days. The latter is what will likely happen if they insist that Kottaras catch Wakefield. No reason why V-Mart can’t catch him. Kottaras is not really part of the team’s future. Mark Wagner is making progress at Pawtucket after a slow start, and Luis Exposito is doing well at Portland.

That said, give Tazawa a chance. I think he will be a very good major league pitcher. Ditto for Bowden. Let’s hope Buchholz carries the confidence from his start last Saturday at Yankee Stadium into Thursday’s start and the Sox get a sweep. Of course, they have to win on Wednesday first. The AL East race is far from over. Boston has six more games with the Yankees, so if it remains within striking distance (no more than 4-5 games out), there is a chance. I prefer the AL East title over the wild card,and I haven’t given up hope.

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